Six female prisoners die in Baghdad prison riots

BAGHDAD: Six female prisoners were killed after rioting and fire in a prison in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The incident happened in a prison in Adhamiyah, north of Baghdad.

Police said that the prison – which was specifically for homeless female prisoners – experienced riots. However, police did not shed lights on the details of the disturbance. The riots then seem to have sparked a fire, causing an unspecified number of inmates to suffocate.

Soon after the incident, civil defence teams and ambulances rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire.

The authorities have opened an urgent investigation into the incident.

Iraqi security forces take all displaced or homeless people from the streets and place them in a prison, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.